1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to container forming machines, and in particular to a new and improved method and apparatus for forming, erecting elongated Bliss-style containers from pre-cut material blanks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is an ever increasing need for better containers to hold commodities having various sizes, shapes and dimensions such as fresh fruits and vegetables, canned and bottled goods, and a wide variety of other products. As new products are developed, new requirements for packing, shipping and storing various quantities of such products arise. Every time such requirements arise, or a new product is developed, there is a need for a new container design, as well as a machine to manufacture it.
In the packaging industry, numerous fiberboard containers and designs have been developed over the years. Such containers are typically constructed of a corrugated material. These materials may be single face corrugated, single wall (double-faced) corrugated, double wall corrugated, triple wall corrugated, etc. Containers may also be made of other paperboard products including, without limitation, container board, boxboard, linerboard, and cardboard.
Many different container box styles and types have also been developed over the years, each being optimally suited for one or more particular products or industries. Slotted box styles include such types as regular slotted containers (RSC), overlapped slotted containers (OSC), full-overlapped slotted containers (FOL), center special slotted containers (CSSC), bag-in-box containers, center special overlapped slotted containers (CSO or CSOSC), center special full-overlapped slotted containers (SFF), and snap-bottom boxes, among others. Telescoping boxes include such types as full-telescope design-style boxes (FTD), full-telescope half-slotted boxes (FTHS), partial-telescope design-style boxes (PTD), partial-telescope half-slotted boxes (PTHS), design-style boxes with cover (SDC), half-slotted boxes with cover (HSC), double-covered boxes (DC), interlocking-covered boxes (IC), bulk bins, and double-thickness score-line boxes, among others. Folder style boxes include such types as one-piece folders (1PF), two-piece folders (2PF), three-piece folders (3PF), four-piece folders (4PF), wrap-around blanks, self-locking trays, tuck folders, and one-piece telescopes (1PT) among others. Slide-type boxes include such types as double-side boxes (DS), and triple-side boxes (TS), among others. Rigid boxes include Bliss boxes and recessed-end boxes, among others. There are also self-erecting boxes, and numerous interior forms for boxes.
In the industry, the terms "case" and "box" are often used interchangeably. These terms each refer to a large, usually rectangular container made out of paperboard which is designed to hold a given number (e.g. 12 or 24) of smaller units such as cartons, bottles, cans, or produce pieces.
Bliss-type boxes have special characteristics which make them highly desirable for use in bulk packing industries such as meats, explosives, fresh fruits and vegetables, and other areas where strong construction and stacking strength are important. Bliss boxes were first developed in the 1920s, and were the subject of a number of early U.S. patents (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,697,709 and 1,974,527). Generally speaking, a Bliss box is made of three distinct pieces of paperboard material. The first is an elongated piece of material, sometimes called a body matt, which is folded around itself in the shape of a rectangular tube forming the bottom, sides and top of the final box. Two separate end panels, usually mirror-images of each other, are attached to the open end of the larger piece to form the completed Bliss box. The corners of the side panels typically fold over the corners of the front and back panels of the body matt on the outside, giving the Bliss style of box good corner and stacking strength. The bottom of the Bliss box is solid which avoids the need for bottom sealing.
Because of its three-part construction, Bliss style boxes offer a wide range of variations in both construction and materials. For example, the end panels may or may not include upper flaps for closing the top of the box. The body matt may include two large flaps (one on either side) to form the top of the box so that these flaps either meet or overlap; or, there may be only one large top flap (with or without a tuck-in lip) provided to form the top of the Bliss box. Top flaps from the side panels may or may not be provided, or some other suitable combination of large or small flaps from the side panels and body matt may be employed.
Similarly, the corner-area overlaps provided by the side panels may vary widely depending upon the degree of strength required. In some Bliss box variations, flaps are provided along the sides of the body matt so that, when the body matt is folded over itself, these flaps create a frame on either end to which the side panels may be attached (on the inside of the body matt). This way, instead of side-panel flaps overlapping the outside of the body matt corners for attachment and strength, body matt flaps in these corners overlap the side panels. Such frames may be made with panels along both sides as well as the bottom end of the body matt. In many cases, the side panels and the body matt may be made of different paperboard materials (e.g., corrugated body matt and linerboard side panels). The overlapping areas of Bliss boxes are generally glued together, but may also be adhered using staples, rivets, or other similar attachment devices.
The process of manufacturing Bliss boxes first requires the creation of the three pieces of the box. The size and shape of the final box is determined by the dimensions of these pieces which are, in turn, determined by the ultimate product to be placed therein. Once these dimensions are determined, the appropriate method and amount of top flap overlap is determined, as well as the manner and amount of attachment of the side panels to the body matt.
Special Bliss box forming machines have been developed over the years to assemble these three paperboard pieces into the completed Bliss box. Different styles of such container-forming machines have been in existence for many years; however, such machines are generally limited to forming only the most basic of the many possible variations of Bliss boxes. Current Bliss box forming machines are designed to fold a body matt into a generally cubed shape, with little variation in width and depth. Such machines are generally designed to attach the two side panels to the body matt with the outside flaps of the side panels overlapping the corners of the body matt. A complicated formation and assembly of a non-standard Bliss box has heretofore been impracticable because of the inherent limitations in existing machines.
The need has now arisen for a large and elongated container capable of holding a sealed, flexible vessel containing several liters of fluid. Since such a vessel (or bag) filled with fluid would be quite heavy, it is important that the container into which it is placed have a great deal of structural strength. A modified Bliss-style container box provides the solution (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,485). Such a container should have longitudinal corner frame support provided in the body matt to give the final container greater strength. The container should also have bottom flaps on the ends of the side panels for adhesion to the inside of the bottom of the body matt. Then, for added bottom corner strength, the body matt itself could also have edge flaps at the bottom that fold up on the outside bottom corners over each of the end panels. Unfortunately, no existing Bliss box forming machine is capable of forming such an elongated, specially reinforced container.
Existing machines do not have sufficiently adjustable hoppers for the unusually shaped fiberboard parts needed for an elongated Bliss container box. Existing machines cannot provide the proper amount or location of adhesive material for application to the fiberboard surfaces. Existing machines cannot provide the necessary positioning of an elongated body matt in relation to the elongated side panels, and, in particular, cannot maintain the necessary separation of these parts until such time as they are ultimately pressed together to form the final container. Without such positioning and separation, improper and/or early adhesion of incorrect surfaces would result. Such a result would be almost unavoidable using existing machines to form an elongated Bliss container.
Current machines are also incapable of providing the added bottom strength elements of combining both (1) end panel flaps adhered to the inside of the bottom of the body matt, together with (2) body matt bottom flaps adhered over the outside bottom corners of the same end panels. It is therefore desirable to provide a single machine that can rapidly form a strong elongated Bliss style container box for holding a filled vessel containing several liters of fluid.